Grounded: Pensioner faces €10k fine after he chugged 2 bottles of wine and set off aircraft alarm

Airport security is a drag, especially if you forget liquids are banned and put two bottles of wine in your carry-on. That's what happened to a pensioner who ended up chugging both bottles, getting so drunk that he couldn't fly.

The 67-year-old German citizen intended to give the two bottles of fine wine to the people who would be hosting him in Thailand. However, instead of wrapping them up safely and putting them in his checked luggage, he stored the bottles in his carry-on bag.

Of course, that was a problem since liquids over 100ml are banned in airplane cabins. Security officials at Frankfurt airport informed him he would have to get rid of the wine.

Realizing that he couldn't possibly let fine wine go to waste, the pensioner did the only thing any self-respecting vino lover would do – he chugged both bottles before heading back towards security.The man, obviously inebriated, somehow managed to make it to his gate and board the aircraft. However, things went downhill from there.

Once he was in the cabin, he pushed an emergency button which opened a locked door. Airport officials had to prevent him from walking onto the tarmac – doing so is considered unauthorized entry and constitutes an offense. They then called the Federal Police, and officers arrived to find that the pensioner appeared uncooperative.

The man was kept in the airport to sober up. When that finally happened, about three hours later, officials who accompanied him to the airport's exit informed him that getting home to his town in Baden-Württemberg would cost €150 (US$185). However, he seemed resigned to having to go home with much lighter pockets. "I have already mucked up so much money today that taxi fares no longer play a role," he told officials, according to the Federal Police. That does appear to be the case, as authorities say the man now faces a fine of up to €10,000 ($12,329) for his shenanigans.